A minute-by-minute look at the 15 worst minutes in D.C. sports (this year)

Washington, D.C. sports fans endured another night of pain and shock on Wednesday night, as the Wizards first lost a heartbreaking Game 5 to the Hawks, and then the Capitals lost to the Rangers in Game 7 overtime.

Before I begin, please know that I am not doing this to pile on. Washington D.C. is my adopted city and I like its sports teams. This is not meant to rub anything in, but rather to put down for the record one night in sports history. I am merely the scribe.

The night got off to a good start just after 7 p.m. when Michael Taylor hit a grand slam to give the Nationals a 3-run lead over the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth inning. They hung on to win the game. I tweeted this, I thought as a joke. Little did I know…

Nats come-from-behind win. DC Sports Night off to a good start. But is it TOO GOOD a start?

From there, the night went on. The Wizards played some interesting lineups, and the game went back and forth. John Wall, playing with five (!) broken bones in his left hand, was sensational. H was making tear drops and pushing the pace offensively.

For the Hawks, Kyle Korver played the defensive game of his life, recording multiple blocks and steals, and couldn’t make a shot. It was Bizarro Korver.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

In the Caps game, Ovechkin scored a beauty, then the Rangers clawed their way back, helped by a boatload of dumb Capitals penalties, to tie the game up 1-1.

There was a flurry at the end of regulation that looked like the Capitals might challenge Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, but Lundqvist pushed aside a shot, the puck got tied up behind the goal, and time expired. Overtime.

I receive a text from my friend who is a Caps fan: “I’m not having fun anymore.”

Let’s go on and pick up the end of regulation in the Wizards game. If you’re a D.C. fan, this might be the time to click away from this article. (All times ET)

10:35 p.m. — With the Wizards trailing by two points and the ball out of bounds, they run a play that has Bradley Beal take the ball baseline. He appears to run out of room, then somehow dishes the ball to Paul Pierce, who is standing completely wide open in the corner. Pierce sets his feet and launches a 3 … boom. The Hawks crowd goes quiet, and Pierce runs along the sideline, mugging for the crowd.

Later I’ll find out he called “Series!” to the Hawks bench.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There are still 8.3 seconds remaining on the clock.

10:35 p.m. — Frantic check over to the Caps game. (I’ve got it streaming on the computer.) The refs have put away their whistles and things are getting hectic in overtime. No one wants to make the mistake. I lost track of Doc Emrick’s count for verbs a few hours ago, but I’m still delighted about the time in the first period when a player kicked the puck up ice and he said he “soccered it along.”

Ovechkin tries to skate out of his own zone and turns the puck over, but luckily Holtby is there to make the save.

10:36 p.m. — Coming out of the Hawks timeout, they get the ball to young point guard Dennis Schroeder, who makes an OK drive to the basket and misses the layup.

The ball seems to hang, suspended, and then out of nowhere, Al Horford comes charging into the paint. Both Paul Pierce and Nene boxed out Millsap, leaving Horford free to grab the rebound. Horford wrestles the ball down, jumps up, and places it in the cylinder.

Shock. Confusion.

I’m watching the game with a few Wizards fans, one of whom just says, “Wait.”

The rest of the Wizards appear just as confused, except for Paul Pierce, who realizes they’re out of timeouts and need to get the ball inbounds. There is still a second left. He screams at his teammates, and eventually gets the ball to Wall, who heaves a halfcourt shot that misses badly. The game is over.

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Wizards fan friend stares at the screen: “What just happened?”

10:41 p.m. — After watching five more replays of the Horford play, we switch over to the Capitals. Things are insane on the ice, but Holtby and Lundqvist seem completely at ease. Kevin Klein fires a shot in at Holtby, save. Jason Chimera goes down the other end and tries one on Lundqvist, save.

“We’re going to be here all night,” I think.

10:50 p.m. — After a couple checks of Twitter and one more rewatching of the Wizards final, we’re back focused on the hockey game. There’s a faceoff in the Capitals zone. Derek Stepan wins it, and Dan Girardi fires in a shot on net.

But it doesn’t make it to the net; it hits the shin of Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik and bounces out directly onto the stick of Stepan. Holtby is still on the ice. In an instant, he realizes what’s happened, but it’s too late. He’s on his backside. Stepan sizes up the shot, then fires into the open net. Game.

And that’s hockey. A puck hit a shin and bounced directly onto a stick. If it hits the other side of Orpik’s leg, no goal. If it doesn’t bounce directly to Stepan’s stick, no goal. These two teams were absolutely perfectly even. It came down to a bounce.

The house is quiet. Everyone leaves. Fifteen minutes ago, Pierce had made the 3, the Capitals were on the verge of a series win, and things were good in D.C. sports. Now my friends walk out on Rhode Island Avenue, and the city is quiet.

A text comes in from a friend: “You see D.C. United won, though? So we got that going for us.”

A minute-by-minute look at the 15 worst minutes in D.C. sports (this year)

In just fifteen minutes, D.C. sports fans went from ecstasy to agony.

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